Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst wrote on Monday highlighting more cases of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) bureaucrats who are abusing programs that allow taxpayers to work for unions.
Ernst details whether bureaucrats claimed to be unionized while they were on leave or spending time in prison, and is said to have started small businesses in Florida using the so-called “taxpayer-funded union time” (TFUT) and worked for HUD Scott Turner while working in Washington, D.C. Ernst told the Daily Courner News Foundation it was time for the agency to get “it’s an orderly home.” (Related: Exclusive: Republicans are aiming for taxpayer-funded union activities)
“Sitting in prison since launching a real estate career, HUD officials have been extremely busy while claiming they are in taxpayer-funded union time,” Ernst said. “On the other hand, they did an important job of serving Americans with backburners. We look forward to ensuring Secretary Turner is tidy at HUD and that federal employees will serve Americans, not themselves.”
American taxes should not be billed for union bosses to negotiate for IRS bureaucrats and get a kushy telework agreement.
I have stopped taxpayer-funded union time insane practices. https://t.co/w9zvxr4dlm
– Joni Ernst (@senjoniernst) April 18, 2025
In the letter, Ernst highlighted additional details about the Florida HUD employees who collected local salaries. It aims to ensure that federal private employees adjust to the base salary of federal private employees while living in Florida have remuneration comparable to private sector counterparts in certain areas of Washington, D.C.
“D.C., which supports allegations that the individual lives in Florida on Washington’s behalf, is a series of legal documents he signed, where he claims his residence is in Port San Lucy, Florida,” wrote Ernst. “These documents include two housing discrimination complaints, one signed in 2019, the other signed in 2020 (submitted to the Florida Relations Committee), and annual limited liability company (LLC) disclosures are signed annually, with the LLC’s main establishments listed as Florida.”
“Maybe this is arguing that HUD employees are doing his entire real estate business outside of his time drawing federal pay,” Ernst added later in the letter. “For some reason, I doubt that.”
According to a whistleblower who contacted the Senator’s office, Ernst also revealed that another HUD employee attended a training conference held in Puerto Rico, adding a week of leave on US territory. Ernst also has another HUD employee using TFUT. Incarceration Drinking and driving in one of several DUI crimes was fired only after allegedly embezzling $20,000 from the US Government Employee Federation. (Related: Exclusive: GOP Senators reintroduce bills to launch one agency bureaucrat outside the beltway)
Federal employees spent 2.6 million hours (approximately 300 years) union activities, costing at least $135 million taxpayers in 2019. According to To Ernst, who cited data from the Human Resources Administration. Ernst’s office received information from the Nuclear Regulation Commission (NRC) regarding TFUT for 2023 and 2024. request To multiple agents.
HUD did not immediately respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
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